Hi Steve,
Totally with you about the Brandon thing. The other layer to me that I would have found maybe most upsetting if I were Clare is that he had just been caught in a lie and telling her what she wanted to hear. Clare has made it very clear she values honesty and vulnerability, so when it became very clear he was just feeding her a line, I think that was what really ended him.
Obviously I think she would have appreciated him having done some research or just knowing even one thing about her, especially given the months of time, but I think she wouldn’t have had the same reaction if he had honestly said “I never watched your seasons, I don’t know much about you and I would like to learn it all now.”
Instead what he said and did meant one of two things:
A. He was just feeding her a line and telling her what she wanted to hear to try to get ahead.
B. He really did just apply solely because of her looks, which is not the kind of relationship she’s looking for.
How could you tell someone you came JUST for them and have no expectation they’d ask you why???
He just came off horribly, and I cheered when she sent him home. It’s not about fishing for compliments, it’s expecting the person trying to date you to be able to say one thing they like about you besides your looks.
Thanks for reading!
Comment: Trust me, no argument here. I’m confused how people don’t see that.
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Hi Steve,
Since Clare and Tayshia both have condensed seasons, are they making less than previous bachelorettes? That I don’t know. I’m not sure how that all works out and if they’re getting paid based on episode breakdown or not.
Love reading your opinions on each season and obviously the spoilers! Makes the show more interesting to watch!
Comment: Well hopefully today’s column helps you to know what to expect tonight. I don’t have every detail of the episode, but I have your basics.
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Do you think the awkward moment between Claire and the guys on the group date was a production setup, or perhaps even miscommunication? Everyone was talking about how crazy the guys were to not be ready to steal her away, but from my perspective, it seemed liked they’d been queued up to have her say something. I was wondering if maybe production told them to wait for her to speak but had also told her to to wait for someone to grab her. Maybe not even an intentional move at all even.
Thanks!
Comment: Ashley suggested this on the podcast last week. I guess we’ll never know unless one of the guys admits it at some point (which I doubt they would do), but she seems to think the guys might’ve been given a directive of, “Hey, maybe lay back once Clare gets here and don’t all jump and pounce immediately.” It just seems so odd. EVERY SEASON on any group date cocktail party, there’s ALWAYS who rises up first to take the lead away. Then all the sudden someone doesn’t and it becomes a storyline? Too coincidental. It probably did happen to some extent, but I don’t know what exactly they told them.
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Hey Reality Steve! I just loved your Kat podcast and love you two together. I’ve been watching Big Brother and religiously reading your column since 2010, so it’s a great meeting of two interests of mine. You guys are so cute. And smart. And entertaining!
Anyway, in listening to your other podcast with the Game or Roses folks, I got interested in your interview on Nick Viall’s podcast so listened to that and then, the Game of Roses reaction podcast to that interview.
I have to be honest — Nick was awful, and your grace under his attacks on you was pretty admirable. Great restraint!
A lot of people would have walked out & just cut it short.
How were you REALLY feeling under his barrage of insults and challenges? How did you manage to stay so conciliatory through it? As I said at the time, in the moment when we were recording, I didn’t sense it as much. Because I do a lot of interviews and a few podcasts, and when you’re being interviewed, unless it’s completely over the top and someone is insulting you, you kinda don’t get a vibe. And he didn’t do that. It wasn’t until I listened back did I realize how he subtly was taking digs and interrupting. But hey, I’ll let the public response speak for itself.
Why is he SO under the thumb of producers? He basically was letting them off the hook when they create the narrative and therefore, the viewers’ opinions. As the Game of Roses podcast pointed out, you’re the one who often softens the blow to contestants and rights any erroneous narrative. You’d have to ask him. But don’t. It’s not like he’d be honest about it.
Congrats on staying cool under pressure. You were great!
As always, I enjoy your podcasts and am so glad you are back to writing columns. They are my fave as much as I like anything you do (Am also now hooked on Kat’s podcast, too)
Thanks!
ps. Thanks for being in Clare’s corner. I am, too. Don’t know why people are crucifying her so much on Twitter. She’s sweet, entertaining, opinionated and leads with her heart, all we want in a lead. I hope Tayshia can deliver, too.
Comment: Depends on what you mean by “deliver.”
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Hi Steve,
Any update on whether Rachel and Becca know about the allegations against Eazy, or acknowledgement that having him on their podcast may have been problematic? Do we know if they know about him now?
Comment: I think they do now. But I don’t know about at the time they recorded.
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Hey Steve,
I’m a week behind so I’ve only just watched the premiere, and I really want your opinion on something. Why do you think they excluded that Clare was on Winter Games, and then engaged to Benoit? That was the first Bach show I watched with Clare in it (only started watching the franchise in 2015) and I LOVED her, made me go back and watch Juan Pablo’s season and then BIP 1 & 2. So I’m having a hard time understanding why they just completely glossed over it? Not even gloss over, but totally IGNORE??? She had so many great scenes (calling out Christian and the ~jacuzzi~ etc) that fits her strong woman characterization, and I don’t personally see anything wrong with her having been through a Bach engagement before, even a failed one. If anything, imo, it gives her more cred in terms of relationships forming from the show because she knows better before saying yes? I dunno, just doesn’t make sense to me, and would love your opinion.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!!
Comment: I know I read an interview with Robert Mills said they did address it in the first episode original cut, but they took it out to show more of how they handled the COVID protocol.
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Hi Steve,
First, thanks for all you do. Second, sorry if this topic is repetitive — I rarely go on Instagram so haven’t seen your lives with Ashley. If so feel free to ignore.
A reader emailed last week about Dale not seeming into Clare. I have seen this take all over Reddit — variants of “Clare is so thirsty for Dale, it’s embarrassing”. I am baffled by this — from my perspective they appear to be mutually all over each other.
I’m curious about your read of the edit. I’ve felt in the first two episodes that Clare/Dale are getting a love story edit — case in point: the scoring and voiceover during the final scene of last episode. But based on the reactions I’ve seen/read, maybe I’m missing something. Do you think the edit is implying desperation on Clare’s part or underinvestment on Dale’s?
Thanks for your time!
Comment: I haven’t noticed that. I don’t think Clare’s edit is desperation for a guy who doesn’t want her. Her edit is one that makes it seem like nothing else in the world mattered but Dale, and I just don’t think it’s gonna play out that way.
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Hi Steve.
Hope all is well. Do you know if Hannah Brown has been cancelled by ABC and any agents ?
I know that incident over the summer put her in a bad place back then but Im wondering why ABC hasen’t called on her to make an appearance on Clare’s season and now possibly not on Matt’s season either ( I see Tyler has been spotted in PA at Nemocolin this morning , its clear that Hannah and Matt became close buddies and were fond of each other while in quarantine) since she was the most recent Bachelorette and one of the most popular I find it strange that she hasen’t made any appearances but yet many other people from bachelor nation supposedly have been involved and spotted in and around most recent filming of the show. What, if anything do you know that you might be able to share about this? If you have no info on it can you find out if she’s been cancelled?
Thanks so much
Comment: I honestly haven’t heard much. I thought maybe I heard some sponsors dropped her but I never got that confirmed.
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Hey Steve,
So this is not Bachelor related but was curious whether you’d consider having more people from Love Island USA season 2 on your podcast? I really liked your interview with Tre and would love to see you interview more islanders. Justine and/or Caleb would be the ideal but really anyone!
Comment: Here’s the deal. I DM’ed Tre on IG, he said he’d do it, and we recorded the next day. CBS has said nothing to me or him since about coming on.
I DM’ed Kierstan asking her to come on. She said she would love to do it. I said great. Then her next reply was she was forwarding my info to CBS and their PR person would be in contact with me. The next day I got an email saying they’d gotten my request to interview Kierstan, but “she was unavailable to do the interview.” I responded, “May I ask why,” and they haven’t responded, which I expected. That was over two weeks ago. So I feel like asking any of them, as long as they’re gonna say, “Sure, as long as CBS approves it,” it’s not gonna happen. And I have no idea why CBS would have anything against me or their contestants on my show. I’ve never spoiled one thing on any CBS show ever. ABC makes sense. Love Island? Gimmie a break. So there’s your answer. Unless these people are willing to do it without asking CBS first, which is probably all the top 10, then you’re probably not gonna hear them on.
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1. I disagree with the emailer from last week who thinks this show is going to be cancelled. If ABC cancelled it, some people would say they ended it just after they finally picked a black bachelor. That would be a bad look for ABC. They’re not getting cancelled.
2. Are you glad that we got a break from BIP this year? The past few seasons, I felt like they kept dragging out the storylines to fill the time allotted. I’ve actually missed the aftershow because at least that cut the Tuesday episode in half. I’m sure those same storylines will be back next summer though. So get ready.
3. Regarding Easy’s appearance on Rachel and Becca’s podcast, I thought contestants on this show are not allowed to do interviews until after the episode when they have been eliminated airs. Is the show changing the rules?
Comment: We’ll see going forward. That definitely was the first one in a while that was allowed to do interviews during the show. But then again, Rachel and Becca’s podcast is the “official” podcast of the show, so, maybe that’s gonna be a thing now. Time will tell.
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What are the chances that Production outright gave Dale the puppy perfume?
There’s no way he just happened to have it. I’m sure they wanted the frontrunner to have the best gift, and were okay with the other contestants knowing he was the frontrunner. Not far fetched to think that at all.
While I support Clare, and she doesn’t have control over the activities, she did state before the season began that she wanted to put the guys in speedos and ice water. It was an idea for a group date she mentioned on Rachel’s podcast. Not quite as bad as what production came up with, though. Yeah, I think that could also be chalked up to just shooting the shit with the ladies and saying like “Bring on the men” in more of a joking manner. I don’t think too much of that. What the show did was definitely way worse.
It seems to me that they are pushing buttons on Clare with Yosef at well. They are encouraging him to use the “example for his daughter” line because that’s exactly the gaslighting that Juan Pablo used on Clare. And what a line it is coming from that guy of all people.
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Send all links and emails to: steve@realitysteve.com. To follow me on Twitter, it’s: www.twitter.com/RealitySteve. Instagram name is “RealitySteve,” or join my Reality Steve Facebook Fan Page. Talk to you tomorrow.
